The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Raises Stock Holdings in EastGroup Properties, Inc. $EGP

Key Points

• The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in EastGroup Properties, acquiring an additional 37,346 shares during Q1, bringing its total ownership to 331,635 shares valued at approximately $58.4 million.
• EastGroup Properties recently declared a quarterly dividend of $1.55 per share, up from the previous $1.40, representing an annualized payout of $6.20 and a yield of 3.7%.
• Wall Street analysts have given EastGroup Properties an average rating of "Moderate Buy" with a target price of $189.31, indicating positive expectations for the company’s performance.

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in shares of EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP - Free Report) by 12.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 331,635 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 37,346 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned about 0.63% of EastGroup Properties worth $58,418,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Covestor Ltd lifted its position in shares of EastGroup Properties by 5.6% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,161 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $205,000 after buying an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Bar Harbor Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of EastGroup Properties by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Bar Harbor Wealth Management now owns 23,344 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $4,112,000 after buying an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Optas LLC grew its stake in shares of EastGroup Properties by 5.1% in the 1st quarter. Optas LLC now owns 1,397 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $246,000 after buying an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its stake in shares of EastGroup Properties by 3.5% in the 1st quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,058 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $363,000 after buying an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Moran Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of EastGroup Properties by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,521 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,149,000 after buying an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.14% of the company's stock.

EastGroup Properties Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of EGP traded up $1.34 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $167.43. 257,043 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 424,342. The firm has a market cap of $8.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.14, a PEG ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 1.01. EastGroup Properties, Inc. has a 12-month low of $137.67 and a 12-month high of $192.21. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $165.75 and its 200 day moving average price is $168.76.

EastGroup Properties (NYSE:EGP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The real estate investment trust reported $2.21 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.20 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $177.29 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $175.80 million. EastGroup Properties had a return on equity of 7.29% and a net margin of 34.85%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.05 earnings per share. EastGroup Properties has set its Q3 2025 guidance at 2.220-2.300 EPS. FY 2025 guidance at 8.890-9.030 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that EastGroup Properties, Inc. will post 8.94 earnings per share for the current year.

EastGroup Properties Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be paid a dividend of $1.55 per share. This is an increase from EastGroup Properties's previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. This represents a $6.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 30th. EastGroup Properties's payout ratio is 133.91%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EGP has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Raymond James Financial reissued a "strong-buy" rating on shares of EastGroup Properties in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of EastGroup Properties from $183.00 to $182.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $215.00 target price on shares of EastGroup Properties and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Sunday, July 13th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on shares of EastGroup Properties from $194.00 to $190.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $189.31.

EastGroup Properties Company Profile

EastGroup Properties, Inc NYSE: EGP, a member of the S&P Mid-Cap 400 and Russell 1000 Indexes, is a self-administered equity real estate investment trust focused on the development, acquisition and operation of industrial properties in major Sunbelt markets throughout the United States with an emphasis in the states of Florida, Texas, Arizona, California and North Carolina.